Decalcomania



v Patented Oct. 22, 1940 Ferdinand W. Humphner, oak Park, nl., assigner,by mesne assignments, to Mid-States Gummed Paper Company, a corporationo Delaware Application prii 2%, i936, Serial No. 77,057

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a decalcomania and Vl no supporting body otherthan the printing` ink itself, thus rendering it impossible to removethe transfer. vA further object isto provide a decalcomania in which thetransfer may be released without the use of Water and in which-onetransferv of the sheet containing several transfers can be readilyreleasedwithout affecting the other transfers. Another object is toprovide a decal-- comania in which the transfer may bereleased by theapplication of heat. lA further object is t'o provide effective meansfor identifying the prod- `uct in the transfer-releasing operation.Other specific objects and advantages will appear as th specificationproceeds. g

The inventionis illustrated, in preferred embodiments by theaccompanying sdrawing in which- Figure 1 is an enlarged side view inelevation of a decalc'omania embodying the broad idea of my invention;Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modified construction; Fig. 3 a similarview of another modification; and Fig. 4, asimilar. view of anothermodication embodying my invention.

In the simple form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, I employ apaper base which may consist-of a standard sheet of book paper with asired, 'with the usual dextrine or starch coatings, etc. Upon the.coated paper is placed a layer of heat-responsive releasing materialsuch as wax.

D I have -found that a layer of hard wax with a melting point of 190-220is satisfactory. I prefer to add to the wax a small amount of rosin orresin 'to provide anchorage. The wax coating A may be transparent oropaque as desired.

Upon the wax layer, I form an imprint. The wax coating permits printingof the transfer film with standard printing equipment such a's oii'set-or letter press, etc. It permits the use of printing equipment whichcannot be' employed with'the ordinary decalcomania waterlreleasetransfer body.

The ink'tobe used in forming 'the imprint is'.-

press conditions employed. To the ink may be added sumcient gums orresins or rosins to cause adhesion when heat is applied thereto.

In the use ofthe decalcomania as shown in Fig. l, the imprint is placedagainst the object or sur- '5 face to which it is to be applied and heatis applied to the rear surface of the paper. At the same time, theheating instrument may be pressed suiciently against the paper to causethe imprint to be firmly brought into engagement l0 with the surface towhich it is to be amxed. I have found that the heatsupplied by anlordinary watt light-globe is sufficient to'release the transfer. Whenheat is applied to the paper and the imprint is pressed against thedesiredsurface, 15 the wax layer melts while at the same time theimprint is caused to adhere to the surface. When the papervand heatinginstrument are removed, the imprint will be vfound to be firmly andevenly united to theI surface. Such an imprint, a@ since it haspractically no body except the materials forming the print, makesremoval for re-use Y an impossibility. Since .the wax is absorbed by-the paper upon application of heat, the use of l opaque wax does notimpair the legibility of the gg imprint. In" the broad phase of myinvention, as described above it will be seen Ithatby the use of threeelements namely, apaper base, a Wax layer, and an adhesive imprint, itis possible to form a 3@ decalcomania transfer without a supportingbody. It will be understood, however, that the invention may beemployeddn a'variety of other forms and with different results oreffects. For example,

a thermoplastic adhesive. Or, if desired, a lacthe use of transparentink in the paper or by the' use of a chemical indicatorin the transferlm, etc.

In the illustration given in Fig. 2, I have shown 5 a paper base coveredwith a coating of dextrine.

Any othersuitable coating maybe employed.

For example, a vegetable gum such as dextrine or starch mixed with waterin suitable proportions may be combined with an emulsion of wax l andpreferably an emulsion of vegetable wax such as Japan wax or adispersion of the samewhich i can be held .stable in the heavier body ofdextrine or starch. -\Enough of thepgbove coating is apu resin so as toprovide anchorage to the gumcoating under normal conditions. The waxcoating maybe transparent, opaque, or of any other desired coloreffects.

The paper formed as just described may be delivered to the printers forprinting thereon designs suitablefor tax stamps etc., such as, forexample, squares, circles and other shapes, the designs being spacedapart so that they do not join when they are released. If desired, theback of the paper may be provided with marks registering with thedesigns so that the user will know that a design is directly opposite amark shown on the back of the paper.

'I'he wax coating permits the use of standard printing equipment forforming the film,A Any suitable ink may be employed. If desired, aheatresistant ink may be used. I prefer an -oil base ink of strong colorand with rm drying qualities and containing the necessary materials orvehicles to fit the particular press conditions.

After the imprint has been made and while the ink is still in a tackystate, fine powder is dusted on the surface, the powder consisting of amixture or flux containing a rosin, a wax, a resin,-

a hard and soft gum. For any of the abovethere may besubstituted-various materials such as, for example, gum quaiac, guttapercha, rubber compounds, pitch asphalt, etc. This treatment gives theink imprint an adhesive character which enables it to cling to thesurface.

If desired, a separate adhesive fllm may be formed over the imprint. Forexample, the ink film may be allowed to dry and then over the lm may beimposed a-second imprint registering with the first and consisting ofthermoplastic materials made in suitable form for applying with aprinting press. Such a compound may be formed by mixing 10 parts of softresin with 'I5 parts of hard resin and 15 parts of carnauba wax.

The application of heat to the back of the paper, by use of a lamp bulb,etc., causes the wax layer to melt and the thermoplastic adhesive tocling to the surface against which it is pressed. The thermoplasticadhesive bonds the imprint to the surface as soon as the imprint isreleased by -the wax. The imprint is preferably in reverse in order thatit may be in positive form when held by a thermoplasticadhesive upon thesurface. In the illustration `shown in Fig. 3, I prefer to imprint thepaper with transparent ink of a well-known'composition. When heat isapplied to the back of the paper, the wax melts and permeates the paperexcept as to 4that portion which is covered` or partially covered withtransparent ink. The result is that dark areas are formed where the waxpermeates the paper while light areas appear where the invisible ortransparent inkprevents the flow of wax. Thus, upon the application ofheat, the designs formed bythe transparent ink become visible. It willbe noted that the disclosure of the formerly visible designs issimultaneous with the operation of applying the imprints.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, a layer of 'may be covered with avegetable coating of gum,

etc.

If desired, the layer4 of thermoplastic adhesive or flux, asillustrated. in Fig. 2, may be opaque or of othersuitable colors so asto provide a background for the imprint and thus causing it to stand outin contrast.

While I havesuggested the use of a light globe as being satisfactory forreleasing and applying the transfers, it will be obvious that othersuitable means may be employed also. If desired, the light bulb may beprovided with a metal guard for applying the heat more uniformlyto theback of the paper and for pressing the adhesive face of the transferevenly against the surface. It will be understood that for differenttypes of heat-applying instruments, a considerable variation in the typeof heat-releasing waxes or other materials may be made.

Chemical indicators may be Aused in the decalcomania. By way of examplebeta naphthol dissolved in alcohol, may be used in the transfer orimprint. In order to dissolve the beta napthol it is preferable first tomix it with potassiumhydroxide and then dissolve in| alcohol. In order.

to test the above xed indicator in the transfer, I use a small amount ofa dye salt dissolved in alcohol. There are a large number of indicatorsknown to the trade which may be used.

My new decalcomania is believed to be the first to apply the printingfilm itself, without the aid of a transfer body, toar surface. Thisconstruction makes the transfer an ideal tax stamp because there` is nopossibility of the film being Yremoved or re-used. It avoids the use ofwater.

contact with the wax layer and up to the time that the wax layer ismelted. I 'I'he foregoing detailed description has been given forclearness `of understanding only, and

no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but theappended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in viewof the prior art.

-I claim: 1. A decalcomania transfer comprising: a paper base,aheat-responsive release coatingjthereon, an imprint carried'by saidcoating, said imprint containing a material which will change color ontheapplication of a suitable re-agent.

2. A decalcomania comprising: a paper base,`

a coating thereon comprising dextrine mixed with a vegetable waxemulsion, a hard wax layer over said dextrine and vegetable wax coating,an imprint upon said wax, and adhesive on said imprint.

3. In a decalcomania of the character set forth,

'a paper base, a heat-responsive releasecoating thereon, a plurality ofseparable .transfer bodies mounted on said coating, imprints on saidtransfer bodies, and indicator marks on the opposite side of said paperbase, each of said marks being transversely aligned with a transfer bodyon the opposite Sidethereof.

4. A decalcomania transfer comprising: a pa.- per base, a heatresponsive release coating thereon, and an imprint on said coating, saidimprint containing a small amount of beta naphthol.

5. A decalcomania transfer comprising: a paper base, a coating thereoncomprising dextrine mixed with a vegetable wax emulsion, a hard waxlayer over said dextrine and vegetable wax coating, and an imprint uponsaid wax.

6. A decalcomania transfer comprising: a paper base, 'said base havingareas covered with transparent ink repellent to wax, a layer of wax overthe surface of said paper base including the area covered withtransparent ink, and an imprint carried on said Wax, said wax whenmelted being adapted to penetrate said paper except as to those areascovered by said ink and being l( adapted to release -said imprint.

FERDINAND W. HUWHNER.

